Red
by MikeJaffa
Summary: Answer to a challenge from InuskyeYash to build a Jo x Maria story around the Jo/Maria shots from the Ugetsu Hakua Special/Infinty phony S2 preview. Rated M/R for lesbianism and violence.


TITLE: Red

AUTHOR: MikeJaffa

SYNOPSIS: Challenge from InuskyeYash to build a story around the Jo/Maria shots from the Ugetsu Hakua Special/Infinty phony S2 preview. Rated M/R for lesbianism and violence.

DISCLAIMER: Gonzo owns Burst Angel. I am making no money off this fic.

8

8

8

Maria calls me Jo. I think that is my name. I'm not sure. But at least I've remembered it since this morning. Most days, I forget.

I am standing on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in a place called New York City, the full Moon red in the eastern sky behind me. I know this place. I met someone here, the girl with red hair. I dream about her every night. Thinking about her gives me a warm feeling inside, but for the life of me, I can't remember her name. I want to remember. I've been thinking about her more and more lately. I feel if I remember her name, I'll remember other things, too. I decided a long time ago I would think of her as "Red" until I remembered more.

Maria didn't like it when I first mentioned Red. She got mad at me, yelled and cursed, and slapped me. So I pretend I don't remember Red anymore.

I've been with Maria a long time, five years now. I remember clawing my way out of the rubble at the base of a destroyed building. I remembered shouting, 'Go, Django, protect Sei!' but I did not know what those names meant. I wandered the streets in a daze. Maria found me. She looked like crap, covered with burns and gunshot wounds that were already healing; before long, she wouldn't have any scars. I knew I was like her. I knew…I knew we were sisters, somehow. But I did not know more than that.

"Come with me, Jo," she purred. "I'll protect you."

I went with Maria because I didn't know where else to go. Right off, it felt wrong, but I couldn't say why. I was in a fog; periods of time passed without me remembering. But Maria kept me locked away in different places while she went off and did…I don't know what. But she got a lot of money and bought us nice clothes. And even though she's a pretty girl with large breasts, she started wearing these masculine suits and cutting her hair very short. But she took care of me so I didn't think much of it, when I thought at all.

Then the touching started.

She made me wear these filmy outfits that expose a lot of skin, almost everything between my neck and my vagina. She would reach under and touch me in different places. Then she did more things to me. She would ask me if it felt good and it did…but something was wrong. I didn't say so, but I knew something wasn't right. Not because we're girls. I like girls, I know that, so that isn't it. Not even because we're sisters. But I didn't know what.

When she left me alone, I would think about Red. In time, other faces came with her – friends, family? But close to me, I know.

I remembered a dark haired young woman with large breasts. I think she's the one called called Sei. When I think of her, I think of this teenage boy. I don't remember his name; I'm pretty sure it rhymes with mine. Thinking about him makes me think about food. I think he cooked for me and Red. I also think that he and Sei loved each other, but they wouldn't say so. Then something happened to separate them, to break up the…the something. I don't remember the details. But I feel sad for Sei and the boy.

And there's a young girl, ten or eleven years old, but incredibly smart and able to hack into any computer system. And now that I think about it, I think she liked the boy's cooking. So he had to be a cook, right? Not a fighter. But I think he was still part of our…team, yes, a team. He mattered, even if it was because he was a good cook with a big heart.

There were a couple of others – a loudmouthed pretty girl with a wooden sword on her back, and a 40-ish guy who refused to act his age. But me, Red, Sei, the girl and the boy – the five of us were the core of it. We were unstoppable; there wasn't anything we couldn't do. And we were tight. You wouldn't think anything could break us, but something did.

And out of all of them, it is Red who matters most to me, Red who stands out in my memories, Red who holds the key to everything. Lately I've begun to remember Red touching me the way Maria does, only it's different with Red; it doesn't feel wrong with her. I wish I knew why. But I'm more sure than ever that if I could remember her name, I would remember everything else.

"Mmm, it's a nice night tonight, isn't it, Jo? What say we do it out here and put on a show?"

Maria. I didn't hear her come onto the roof, and now she is behind me, breathing in me ear as she reaches around in front of me. Her hands go under my clothes and she starts to touch me. I want to run; the one time I ran, she made me pay for it. So I don't run.

"Have you been thinking of me, Jo? You like this, don't you?"

No, I don't, not with you! And now that I remember being with Red, I know why. With Red, it felt like she was giving me something, like a precious gift of herself, using her body to tell me what she felt even if she couldn't find the words. But you, Maria, you're doing this for yourself, because you can. You're taking something from me whether I want to give it or not just because you can, just because you have power over me. I know that now.

I close my eyes and focus on Red. I think about her body against me, about her touch, her scent, her taste. I go back in time and hear my own voice as I start to moan…

"Meg!" I cry out.

Maria's hands freeze. "What?"

"Meg," I repeat, and I feel myself smile. That name brings everything back: Meg, Amy, Kyo, Sei, the trailer…everything, not only my time with Meg but before Meg. I know why I had amnesia when she found me. It wasn't that I *couldn't* remember. I *didn't want to.* When I'd fought and killed…when I'd murdered our other sisters on the aircraft carrier, part of me wanted no part of that life. Part of me wanted to make it go away. And it did. I buried the memories and told myself I couldn't remember until I believed that comforting lie. But the truth caught up with me. It almost killed me.

It should have killed me. Because now I want to kill it.

Maria spins me to face her. She's wearing one of her suits; a wind from the south is blowing her scarf. "What do you think you know?" she demands.

"Everything," I answer.

Maria cuffs me hard. "NO! You're with me now. You're supposed to love me."

"You don't know what love is."

Maria hits me harder. "And do you think you're better than me?"

"No, Maria, you misunderstand. You don't know it what it is because our creators didn't want us to know. They never wanted us to feel it. That's why they wanted only one of us – if there was one of us kept away from all human contact, we would never think of anything but following orders. We would be good little weapons. But it didn't work. We still feel it. That's why you cried that night."

Maria takes a half step back. "What are you talking about?"

"The night after the aircraft carrier. I know what you did. When you were sure no one could hear you, you cried for our sisters, for the sisters we had murdered. You didn't know why you were crying and you told yourself it was weakness. You thought if you made yourself like them, you'd be strong. But you're not. You're like an abused child abusing others in turn. But it doesn't have to be this way."

Maria is angry and uncertain, tempted by my words and repulsed by them. "You…you're making this up…how could you know that?"

"Because I cried that night, too."

I remember that first night sleeping in that abandoned school bus Meg shared with the other orphans, crying so hard and not knowing why. Meg took me back into that little curtained off area she had at the back and asked me what was wrong. I said I didn't know. I said I felt pain and I didn't know why because I hadn't been wounded. And she took me in her arms and said she would be with me until the pain went away. And right then I knew there was another way from the life I had lived, and I wanted to keep it, to fight for it.

"Meg helped me," I say, "and in time, the others, too. They made me see that the life They want for us, that's no way to live. Meg and the others helped me. They can help you." I extend my hand. "Come back to Japan with me, Maria. Help me reform the team. Join us. We'll be unstoppable. Zero will never know what hit it." I smile.

Maria looks at me with her mouth open. Then she shrieks in rage and starts hitting me. She keeps punching and kicking me after I have fallen to the concrete, all the while screaming incoherently. I knew this would happen, but I had to try; she's still my sister. But maybe she's a lost cause, too.

Maria stomps off the roof, leaving me lying there with a split lip, a broken nose, a busted rib, and probably a black eye. But the pain is only physical; inside, I feel stronger than ever. I roll onto my side and face west again, and I know why now: It's where Meg is, the direction Meg will be coming from when she comes for me.

You're out there, Meg, aren't you? I can feel you. Come to me. Pick up my scent, follow the trail. Reform the team. Bring Sei and Amy and yes, even Kyohei. We'll show Zero what four cranky girls and a panicky chef can do. We'll be unstoppable; Zero will never know what hit it. I know that as sure as I know what my name is.

And once and for all, now and forever, I know my name is Jo.

THE END


End file.
